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posted by Fnord666 on Monday April 02 2018, @04:22AM   Printer-friendly
from the no-coal-for-you dept.

The sanctions are part of a crackdown on smuggling of North Korean commodities in violation of UN sanctions resolutions.

The UN Security Council has blacklisted 27 ships, 21 companies and a businessman for helping North Korea breach sanctions, as the United States keeps up pressure on Pyongyang despite its recent overtures towards talks.

The sanctions were passed on a request from the US and they are part of a global crackdown on the smuggling of North Korean commodities in violation of UN sanctions resolutions, which were adopted in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

The sanctions designations were approved as the US moves to open talks with North Korea on its nuclear drive, with a summit possible between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un by the end of May.

Despite the diplomatic opening, the US has made clear they will keep the pressure on Pyongyang to shift course by pressing on with sanctions.

"We want to thank the members of the Security Council, as well as Japan and South Korea, for working with us to keep up the pressure and for their commitment to implementing UN Security Council resolutions and holding violators accountable," Haley added on Friday. 

Twenty-one shipping and trading firms were hit by an assets freeze. Three of them are based in Hong Kong including Huaxin Shipping, which delivered shipments of North Korean coal to Vietnam in October.

Twelve North Korean firms were blacklisted for running ships involved in illegal transfers of oil and fuel, according to the document.

Two other companies, Shanghai Dongfeng Shipping and Weihai World Shipping Freight, also based in China, were blacklisted for carrying North Korean coal on their vessels.


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  • (Score: 1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday April 02 2018, @05:02AM (9 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Monday April 02 2018, @05:02AM (#661332) Homepage

    They need to do what the Krauts did to avoid blockades and start using submarines to trade. If the Mexican cartels can build submarines, so can Asian shipping companies.

    The UN are a fucking joke anyway. Fuck those cocksuckers.

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 02 2018, @05:45AM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 02 2018, @05:45AM (#661341) Journal

    They need to do what the Krauts did to avoid blockades and start using submarines to trade.

    Probably already do. I've heard exciting tales of North Korean shenanigans involving subs already, going back to the Cold War. I doubt they could ship massive amounts of coal by sub though. That's a lot to maintain and risk just for coal. Here, the "businessman" and various smugglers involved probably were looking for quick bucks and didn't think they were risking that much. Maintaining a bunch of subs whose only purpose is to haul coal to North Korea is a very different game than getting a bunch of smugglers with cheap-ass ships to haul.

    • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday April 02 2018, @06:25AM

      by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Monday April 02 2018, @06:25AM (#661348) Homepage Journal

      Their torpedo split the ship's hull in two. It sunk instantly, killing a great many seamen.

      I don't clearly recall when but is was somewhere around 2008.

      Despite that, South Korea reacted about the same as it did when a North Korean nuke test resulted in a low-yield squib explosion. NK explained that they used explosives to dig a big hole for a sports stadium.

      --
      Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 02 2018, @08:37AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 02 2018, @08:37AM (#661370) Journal

      You need to keep in mind that a "Hong Kong businessman" may not be Chinese. There were a number of N. Koreans doing business in mainland China, using the Chinese addresses and Chinese corporation laws to mask that they were N. Koreans. The same is very likely true of businesses acting on N. Korea's behalf in Hong Kong, or any other major trading center.

      None of that precludes the possibility of an unethical Chinese businessman - or American, or any other nationality. All the greedy people see are dollar signs.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by jmorris on Monday April 02 2018, @05:59AM (5 children)

    by jmorris (4844) on Monday April 02 2018, @05:59AM (#661344)

    The Norks themselves might be willing to man those boats, nobody else would be crazy enough to risk it. Trump is going full bore on turning the screws like nobody else has even considered trying. What happens under the sea stays under the sea; who wants to run the risk of being quietly and oh so deniably sunk? I certainly can't guess whether Trump would give the order, the Norks, Chinese, etc. seem willing to believe he might. And that uncertainty is worth a lot in a negotiation. Almost like he wrote the book on the subject or something.

    What I'd really like to know, but obviously can't, is what Trump would consider a "win" in this situation. Hell, I'm not even certain what I'd consider a win. Reunification certainly didn't help Germany and anything less will only fester again.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 02 2018, @08:43AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 02 2018, @08:43AM (#661371) Journal

      quietly and oh so deniably sunk?

      Decades ago, scuttlebutt aboard ship had it that there were several Soviet subs sunk offshore of Cape Canaveral, or Cape Kennedy. I initially considered that to be just scuttlebutt. As time went on, and I heard more people making that claim, I began to believe the stories. During the space race, we did not want the soviets watching Cape Canaveral.

      I find it odd, though, that after all these years, I've never seen a "leak", or any documents declassified. Just talk, rumors, and nonsense from shipmates, many of whom should have known what they were talking about.

      But, you are certainly right. Sinking a sub is so easy, and so easily deniable.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Monday April 02 2018, @03:25PM

      by Freeman (732) on Monday April 02 2018, @03:25PM (#661511) Journal

      Tell that to the people who were living in East Germany and desperately trying to escape. Reunification definitely won't "help" South Korea financially (at least in the short term), but it would definitely be better for the North Koreans. Assuming, you're not one of the people in power in North Korea that is.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday April 02 2018, @09:17PM (2 children)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday April 02 2018, @09:17PM (#661665) Journal

      Please explain "reunification certainly didn't help Germany." In detail. I want to hear this, even though I know it'll be a trainwreck.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 1, Troll) by jmorris on Tuesday April 03 2018, @01:06AM (1 child)

        by jmorris (4844) on Tuesday April 03 2018, @01:06AM (#661740)

        Two words: Mad Merkel

        Without reunification it is hard to see Germany self destructing like they currently seem determined to do. Worse, they seem to think pulling all of Europe to Hell with them is required for reasons not adequately explained. The other problems of reunification were serious but survivable. But it seems to have triggered something horrible in the German psyche.

        Now imagine what could happen if the utterly defective North Koreans suddenly get thrown into modern Korea and get to vote. And the dominant "civic religion" ruling the West won't permit any other decision if the walls and minefields are suddenly torn down. No holding them as a protectorate for a generation to educate and integrate their children while leaving the most brainwashed adults safely out of the decision loop. What monsters will be unleashed? Who the Hell knows, but after the German example we probably do not want to find out.